Christina Aguilera was born December 18, 1980, in Staten Island, New York. Christina is an accomplished entertainer and a star musician. She is the daughter of an Ecuadorian father, Fausto, and a Irish mother, Shelly. Christina moved around quite a bit as a child because her father was in the military. Her parents separated when Christina was seven, an she moved to Wexford, Pennsylvania, with her mom and sister Rachel.

Christina began performing at age six in school talent shows, and at eight she appeared on the nationally syndicated "Star Search". At the age of ten, she sang the National Anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers. By twelve, she joined the star cast of "The New Mickey Mouse Club", appearing on the Orlando-based show. Two years later, the show ended and Christina took the opportunity to travel overseas, to pursue her singing career, and recorded a duet with Japanese pop star Keizo Nakanishi.

When she heard that Disney was looking for a singer to record a song for the animated film Mulan, Aguilera cut a one-take demo using the boombox in her living room. The demo was FedExed to Disney and 48 hours later she was in a Los Angeles studio recording "Reflection" for Mulan. Within the week, RCA signed her to a major label record contract.

Christina has performed in places as far flung as Tokyo, Japan, Brasov and Romania. She always kept her eye on the same goal. "I always wanted to have my own album released before I graduated from high school."

Christina's big break came with her first #1 single "Genie In A Bottle". This single stayed atop the charts for five consecutive weeks. The follow-up single, "What A Girl Wants", reached the top of Billboard's Hot 100 #1 slot for 2000. Christina's amazing new year started with a great duet performance with Enrique Iglesias at the Super Bowl Half Time Show which also featured Phil Collins and Toni Braxton.

Christina's celebrity charm has graced the covers of many national magazines, which include Entertainment Weekly, Teen People and Latina. She has performed as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Instead of coasting on her success, she already has big plans for the future. She's writing some songs for her next album, and planning a fashion and jewelry line. She's working on Spanish language albums that will pay tribute to her heritage.

Christina isn't limiting herself, and she is reinventing herself as time goes by. She say's "I want to be an all-round entertainer, I want to act, make films, make albums, do whatever I can." The career possibilities for this young hot star seem endless.



After Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera was the most popular female singer of the

late-'90s teen pop revival. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Aguilera was a technically skilled singer with a genuinely powerful voice, belting out her up-tempo dance numbers and ballads with a diva's panache. Born Christina Maria Aguilera on December 18, 1980, on Staten Island, her parents were of Irish and Ecuadorian stock and her father's military career meant the family moved quite a bit during her childhood. They eventually settled in Philadelphia, where Aguilera began performing in talent shows at age six, with considerable success.

She appeared on Star Search in 1988 (though she didn't win) and in 1992 joined the cast of the Disney Channel's The New Mickey Mouse Club, which also included Spears, future *N Sync members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, and Felicity star Keri Russell. After two years, Aguilera moved to Japan, where she recorded the hit duet "All I Wanna Do" with pop star Keizo Nakanishi.

Returning to the U.S. in 1998, Aguilera recorded the song "Reflection" for Disney's Mulan; her performance helped earn her a record deal with RCA. Her self-titled debut album was released in the summer of 1999 and with teen-oriented dance-pop all the rage, the lead single "Genie in a Bottle" shot to the top of the charts for five weeks; the album also hit number one on its way to sales of over eight million copies in the U.S. alone.

The follow-up, "What a Girl Wants," was the first number one single of the year 2000 and Aguilera consolidated her near-instant stardom by performing at the White House Christmas gala and the Super Bowl halftime show, and winning a Grammy for Best New Artist. Further hits followed in "I Turn to You" and another number one, "Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)."



In September 2000, seeking a place in that year's Latin pop boom, the part-Ecuadorian Aguilera recorded a Spanish-language album called Mi Reflejo, learning the lyrics phonetically since she didn't speak Spanish. It was followed quickly by the holiday album My Kind of Christmas; both sold extremely well, a testament to Aguilera's popularity.

In the spring of 2001, Aguilera was featured -- along with Pink, Mya, and Lil' Kim -- on the chart-topping blockbuster remake of Patti LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" featured on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Aguilera was by now a fixture at music industry awards shows; as she enjoyed her celebrity, a collection of old demos -- recorded when she was 14 and 15 -- was released under the title Just Be Free, despite Aguilera's vehement objections.

Ms. Aguilera attempted to deter the mass media's expectations when she issued her second studio album in fall 2002. Stripped, which appeared in October on RCA, was quickly criticized for its adult, yet confident approach. Aguilera's look had gone from glossy to gritty. She appeared topless on the cover of the album and went nude for a fall issue of Rolling Stone. Debut single "Dirrty" revealed Aguilera's new sexual power and became a chart smash.


Christina Aguilera